1896-97-] 3^i 



Causeway, taking with him a guide from Ballymoney. After 

 describing his journey, he said — " You go down to the Cause- 

 way by a very narrow path along the side of the hill " — a 

 statement as correctly descriptive of our present mode of getting 

 to the Causeway as it was no doubt 188 years ago. In 1788 

 one of our first popular guide books was published. It was 

 entitled fi The Complete Irish Traveller in the Kingdom of 

 Ireland," in two volumes. In that was given a very excellent 

 description of the Causeway, but it did not refer to the path. 

 Possibly the writer experienced no difficulty in reaching the 

 Causeway by the usual path. Dr. Drummond, who published 

 his excellent descriptive poem on the Causeway in 1811, said 

 nothing about this way down, while the statistical survey of 

 the County of Antrim of 18 12 was equally silent about the 

 same path. He also referred to the Guide to the Causeway 

 published in 1834, an< ^ t0 one published in 1838 entitled 

 " Guide through Ireland " which relerred to the hotel built at 

 Bushmills for the accommodation of visitors to the Causeway. 

 Lewis's "Topographical Dictionary," published in 1837, said — 

 " The only access to it by land is down a winding path, cut at 

 the expense of the late Earl of Bristol while Bishop of Derry in 

 the western side of a verdant headland called " Ovid's Snout.'' 

 There were also references to the Causeway in Mrs. Hall's 

 "Guide to the Causeway,'' written from 184^01843. M'Comb's 

 "Guide to the Causeway," published in 1861, said — " The only 

 landward access to the Causeway approaching it from the Bush- 

 mills direction is down a very steep pathway," In conclusion, 

 Mr. Gray said there was historic evidence to show that the 

 Giant's Causeway had been a place of interest to the curious 

 traveller for nearly two hundred years. Although little had 

 been done for the accommodation of visitors until the last few 

 years, fortunately Coleraine or Bushmills had been the head- 

 quarters of the visitors, and there the guides met the coaches 

 and picked up the passengers going to the Causeway. Every 

 effort ought now to be made to develop tourist traffic and to 

 induce strangers to share with the inhabitants of the North of 



